If SNMP is enabled for IPAM, what extra information do you get?

Question

We currently do not have SNMP enabled for IPAM (partly because we are still getting SNMP set up correctly on our devices), but I am considering enabling it in the near future. I have a couple of questions.

1. What information does it provide that is not provided using only ip scan (I am guessing it will provide just the predefined fields which come up now such as MAC address, Machine Type, Vendor, etc.)?

2. Does using SNMP create significant overhead for the application and/or the monitored devices?

mdiotte · Accepted Answer

Hey SolarC,

1. You are correct. It will collect all the predefined fields you are seeing blank at the moment such as System name, MAC address ect..

2. An IP will only be queried via SNMP if it responds first to a Ping. Secondly within the IPAM credentials you have the ability to specify the priority order in which the SNMP communities will be used. To avoid needless retries make sure the most common communities are at the top. Lastly the default subnet scan time in IPAM is 4 hours so the over head for the application and/or devices should not be a concern and you can increase this interval if you wish.

Hope this helps!